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Queer Horror At The Fittest (Leviticus review)

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  The horror renaissance continues, and in celebration of Pride Month, Neon finally releases the film we've been waiting for. Leviticus' dark take on a coming-of-age queer romance through a supernatural horror lens is something audiences might want right now. With the two genres experiencing an unprecedented resurgence, does this plot manage to create its own space as iconic or as fodder before the resurgence runs its course?  Leviticus centers around two young boys in a heavily religious rural Australian town, and as a form of conversion therapy, queer kids are faced with a ritual that engages their confusion and sexuality with fear. At first, the film seems like your average forbidden-love story, with stolen glances, a secret hideout, and some teenage jealousy. 20 to 30 minutes in, that does take a turn, but rather in the sense of finding its balance, it manages to seamlessly let you go with where it is heading when we, as an audience, are facing the complexities of these y...
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The Fear Of Truth (Disclosure Day review)

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  Steven Spielberg is posing the question not of whether we are alone in the universe, but rather of whether we know we aren't. Disclosure Day is Spielberg's return to the sci-fi genre, with a top-billed cast meant to be seen on the big screen. With the intentionally mysterious marketing, it was at times both hard and easy to tell what the plot was aiming for. The main question was which perspective it intended to illuminate, especially in historical cases dismissed as mere conspiracy theories.  Without giving too much away, the film revolves around Josh O'Connor and Emily Blunt's characters, (as well as I think everyone's characters, from the likes of Colin Firth, Eve Hewston and Colman Domingo) caught in a race to reveal a specific truth, sparking a debate of withholding the truth to avoid mass public, or considering the inherent fear of admitting the truth, whatever that may be, in themselves. In the wake of it, creating a plot that questions, and to some extent...
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The Debilitating Nuances of Exploring Masculinity (Masters Of The Universe review)

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In a heap of nostalgia that comes into play when going to theaters these days, Masters of the Universe leans into it the most as it tries to bring the power of He-Man back to the silver screen (once again) with a bigger budget and up-and-coming actors. This will be Amazon MGM's next attempt at creating a hit in the multiplex after what Project Hail Mary ended up becoming, this time partnering with Mattel to create yet another adaptation of the famous toy line/80's cartoon.  The movie centers on the lost Prince Adam, stranded on Earth, as he tries to find his way back to Eternia to fulfill his destiny, save his parents, and defeat the maniacal Skeletor. In finding the Sword of Grayskull, he has to embrace his power while also convincing the people, whether in Eternia or on Earth, that he is the lost prince and has a destiny for more in an '80s-inspired fantasy realm than his forced life in a cubicle     Masters Of The Universe very much tries to be Barbie for men, but that...
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Regrets and Finding Youth in Sci-Fi (Netflix's The Boroughs review)

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  Despite being produced by the Duffer Brothers and looking like a retirement home version of Stranger Things, The Boroughs are so much more than that. Personally, I was not a big fan of their latest outing, Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen, so I didn't bother finishing it. I was having high hopes for this, as it seemed to be leaning into a weird but Spielbergian style of sci-fi thriller with a couple involved in 'saving the world'.  I was right, that was exactly what The Boroughs were. It centers on Alfred Molina's Sam Cooper, who is recently widowed, and is thrust into this retirement/old folks home neighborhood, and he meets a bunch of his neighbors that he is abrasive with at first, until they all part of a conspiracy that specifically happened in Sam's house with the previous owners that sparks a thrilling mystery that everyone is playing off as dementia spells.  This leans into the wonder and fantasy of it all in the sci-fi genre. So, consider all the ins...
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An Episodic Tale With No Stakes (The Mandalorian and Grogu review)

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  It has been 7 years since a Star Wars movie graced the silver screen, with Lucasfilm going through significant turmoil within Disney to create the next theatrical release that would bring fans back to support the franchise that had seemingly turned against it after The Rise of Skywalker, and, to some degree, rightfully so. Since then, Lucasfilm has been relying on Disney+ for its content output, and their most successful of the bunch is The Mandalorian, centered on Din Djarin, a bounty hunter who comes across a baby Jedi, Grogu, and they go on adventures together.  It seems almost odd that after what Disney+ has been doing with the Marvel franchise, Disney decided to have their first Star Wars in nearly a decade to be a continuation of a hit Disney+ show, relying on the fact that everyone had seen The Mandalorian TV show, despite Grogu toys being as profitable as Stitch at this point. All of us have been on the edge of our seats, wondering if this can turn Star Wars fans' fa...
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In Cynical Fashion (The Devil Wears Prada 2 review)

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2 decades later, The Devil Wears Prada has a cult following, not only for its campy aspects but also for its specific take on motivation in the workplace, how one is perceived when their life is consumed by work, and the consequences that bring to their personal life. There have been many ways in which people who have seen the 2006 film have been inspired by a work ethic, because it made such an impact on the professional zeitgeist. It was not surprising when they announced they were developing a sequel outside the confines of the novel it was originally based on, and, of course, leaning into the nostalgia bait. The sequel not only needed to live up to the predecessor but also make an impact; it needed a reason to exist, especially when many other sequels to franchises that started 10 to 20 years ago barely spark a conversation worth having.  What I can say is that The Devil Wears Prada 2 has a message, a specific one that involves saving the art form, from this movie's c...
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Selling The Fantasy (Michael review)

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Michael Jackson was and sometimes even still is a cultural phenomenon, and there has been a lot of chatter around this biopic on the King of Pop, from legal issues, to reshoots and delays, all have finally culminated in what we would hope to consider to be the first blockbuster of the summer movie season. Out of the gate, from the trailers, this seemed promising, but we weren't sure how much of Michael's life, struggles, and success would be featured on screen and how audiences would react to celebrating as well as negating certain things that occurred within the Jackson family.  Overall, I would say this biopic was a good time at the theater. It does not let up from emotional punches to its musical sequences. It was very refreshing to watch this with an active crowd who were true fans of Michael Jackson; it was almost endearing to see them celebrate, laughing, crying, and singing along to the movie. I do think that the movie does manage to do a good job in creating that atmos...
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